President Trump excoriated the “ideology of globalism” and multinational authorities, underscoring the importance of national sovereignty and need for countries to pay for their own defense in his address before the United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday.
The president’s second address before the body since taking office was marked by the president’s insistence that other nations look out for themselves and their own interests, and allow the United States to do the same.
“I honor every nation to pursue its own customs, beliefs and traditions. The United States will not tell you how to live or work or worship,” Mr. Trump said. “We only ask that you honor our sovereignty in return.”
Mr. Trump said the United States “will not be taken advantage of any longer,” criticizing how he believes other nations have ripped the U.S. off on trade and defense spending.
The president also spent time lamenting the situation in Venezuela, one he blamed largely on socialism. Mr. Trump announced his administration is imposing new sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s inner circle and close advisers.
“All nations of the world should resist socialism and the misery that it brings to everyone,” Mr. Trump said, using Venezuela as an example of how he believes socialism destroys nations.
Asked later about what intervention he might be considering in Venezuela, Mr. Trump said he’s looking very strongly at the possibility, given the horrible things happening there.
In his speech, Mr. Trump also took time to lambast Iran’s “corrupt dictatorship,” as a representative from Iran looked on with a scowl. Mr. Trump also reminded the audience of his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year.
“Iran’s leaders sow chaos, death and destruction,” Mr. Trump said. “The do not respect their neighbors or borders, or the sovereign rights of nations. Instead, Iran’s leaders plunder the nation’s resources to enrich themselves and to spread mayhem across the Middle East and far behind. The Iranian people are rightly outraged that their leaders have embezzled billions of dollars from Iran’s treasury, seized valuable portions of the economy and looted the people’s religious endowments, all to line their own pockets and send their proxies to wage war. Not good.”
Those comments came only hours after Mr. Trump on Twitter said he was sure Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, is a “lovely man,” comments that perplexed some given Rouhani’s reputation as a brutal leader.
On North Korea, a nation he famously blasted in his speech last year and threatened to “totally destroy,” Mr. Trump took a much softer approach. He touted what he views as progress on the Korean Peninsula, although North Korea has yet to show many substantive signs it is making good on its commitment to denuclearization.
Live updates from earlier below:
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Speech concludes
After a speech that lasted roughly 30 minutes, Mr. Trump concluded his remarks.
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U.S. will only give foreign aid to our “friends,” Trump says
The president said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reviewing foreign assistance to other nations, and only give funds to nations that respect the U.S. and frankly, are “friends.”
The president complained that the U.S. gives so much to other nations, but other nations fail to give back.
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Trump announces new sanctions on Venezuela
Mr. Trump, after blasting the socialism in Venezuela, announced that the U.S. will impose new sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s inner circle and close advisers.
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U.S. won’t participate in global migration compact
The president said the U.S. will not participate in a global migration compact, saying that instead, nations should be encouraged to flourish within their borders.
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“We reject the ideology of globalism”
Mr. Trump blasted the “ideology of globalism” in his speech, touting the importance of sovereignty.
“We reject the ideology of globalism,” the president said.
before criticizing OPEC and touting the importance of energy independence.
“OPEC and OPEC nations are as usual, ripping of the rest of the world, and I don’t like it, nobody should like it,” Mr. Trump said. “We defend many of these nations for nothing and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices. Not good!”
Mr. Trump urged other nations not to rely on OPEC, lamenting any dependence Germany has on Russia.
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“The United States will not be taken advantage of,” Trump says
Mr. Trump brought up one of his most consistent positions throughout his campaign and administration — that other countries have treated the U.S. unfairly, and the U.S. is fixing that.
“The United States will not be taken advantage of any longer,” he told the audience.
Mr. Trump recently announced a tentative trade agreement with Mexico, and on Monday, signed a new United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement with South Korean President Moon Jae-In.
America, the president said, will never apologize for protecting its citizens. Mr. Trump said he has respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping, but China’s practices cannot be tolerated. The U.S. and China have continued to spar over increasing tariffs.
“China’s market distortions and the way they deal cannot be tolerated. As my administration has demonstrated, America will always act in our national interests,” he said.
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Trump blasts “corrupt leadership” in Iran
Mr. Trump blasted the leadership in Iran, saying Iran’s neighbors have paid a heavy toll.
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Trump touts North Korean denuclearization efforts
Mr. Trump insisted much progress has been made in North Korea, a stark change from last year’s speech when he called Kim Jong Un “rocket man” and pledged to “totally destroy” North Korea, if necessary.
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Trump: The United States will not tell you how to live
Mr. Trump emphasized that he desires independence and cooperation over multinational organizations.
The United States, he told those present, will not tell other nations’ peoples how to live or where to work. In return, Mr. Trump said, the United States only asks other nations to respect its sovereignty.
“I honor every nation to pursue its own customs, beliefs and traditions,” he said. “The United States will not tell you how to live or work or worship.”
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Audience chuckles at Trump’s comment about his success
After taking the stage, the president began to tout America’s economic growth under his presidency.
“In less that two years my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country. America’s–so true,” Mr. Trump said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
Mr. Trump highlighted jobs numbers for minority groups, and the December 2017 tax cuts. He also touted his emphasis on border security.
“In other words, the United States is stronger, safer and a richer country than it was when I assumed office less than two years ago,” the president said. “We are standing up for America and for the American people. And we are also standing up for the world.”
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Trump arrives, says he has “much personal correspondence” with Kim
Mr. Trump, arriving at the U.N.G.A., told reporters he won’t meet with Iran until they change their tune.
“I’m not meeting with them until they change their tune,” the president said.
On North Korea, the president said he has had “much personal correspondence ” with leader Kim Jong Un.
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Trump running behind schedule
Mr. Trump — who has in the past shown up late to gatherings of world leaders — is running behind schedule, according to the White House press pool. If he has not arrived by the time Brazil’s president concludes his speech, the U.N. will move on to Ecuador.
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Trump on Iran
Iran and the U.S.’ pullout of the internationally-accepted Obama-era nuclear pact is expected to be raised in the president’s address on Tuesday.
Pompeo said that the administration’s goals of reimposing strict sanctions on Iran and those that do business with the regime “have made clear we will not continue to accept Iran’s bad behavior.”
He said that Mr. Trump has “well-deserved strong words for the Iranian regime” that he will also raise during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday. There he will stress the threat of nonproliferation and the need for the global community to “stop the spread of weapons and technologies.”
“He’ll call on every country to join our pressure campaign in order to thwart Iran’s global torrent of destructive activity,” said Pompeo.
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser John Bolton was adamant that regime change in Iranian leadership is “not the administration’s policy.”
“What we expect from Iran is massive changes in their behavior. And until that happens, we will continue to exert what the President has called ‘maximum pressure.’ That’s what we intend to do,” Bolton added.
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Trump to press maximum pressure on North Korea
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Monday in advance of the president’s speech that Mr. Trump would make the case in his second address to the UNGA that “now is not the time to ease pressure” on North Korea as the administration continues its “maximum pressure” campaign until complete and verifiable denuclearization is achieved.
Mr. Trump earlier on Monday told reporters that that a second meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un would be taking place “quite soon.”
“Kim Jong Un wrote a letter, a beautiful letter, asking for a second meeting, and we will be doing that. Secretary Pompeo will be working that out. In the immediate future, it looks like it’s moving very well,” the president said.
At last year’s address to the U.N., Mr. Trump said that the North risked “total destruction” if it continued to pursue nuclear weapons, and he said of Kim, “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime.”
